Back up to speed

Equine Spa's treatments help injured horses heal faster

West Lake Worth — A groom at his side, the skittish brown racehorse slipped slowly into a narrow and deep pool of salt water to begin a 17-minute session walking on an underwater treadmill.

Since he started the therapy on Sept. 1, Ground Force has shaved 5 seconds off his time at the track and eased the arthritis in his front feet. Enjoying the 12 whirlpool jets and lapping at the water is just a bonus.

"They're getting a massage. People pay good money for this," trainer Bill Gallagher said while Ground Force licked at the neck-high water.

The underwater treadmill, along with a host of other therapies and training techniques, is part of a new equine rehab center, the only one of its kind in South Florida. Dr. Michael Carinda, a veterinarian, officially opened The Equine Spa at the South Florida Training Center at the beginning of November. But he's been treating some horses, like Ground Force, for a couple of months.

Don't let the spa in the name fool you. The Equine Spa is designed for getting horses up and running faster after injuries or surgeries. Not for pampering.

"We don't give French manicures," Carinda said.

What they do offer is a swimming pool, equine acupuncture, shock wave therapy and a device called a hot walker that forces the horses to walk in a circle at a set speed. For $30 a day, equestrians can sign their horses up for any and all of the spa's therapies. The spa treats everything from broken legs and pulled muscles to recovery from arthroscopic surgery.

Right now Carinda treats about a dozen horses a day, mostly standardbred racehorses like Ground Force, that train at the South Florida Training Center. But he hopes that with the season starting he'll start treating show horses and polo ponies, too.

"They just get stuck in a stall," he said. "Every day that they're down it takes another day to come back. A 30-day injury is 60 days off work."

The underwater treadmill, one of only six in the state, allows the horses to start training as soon as their stitches come out. The water carries 40 percent of their body weight, making it easier on their legs. Fifteen minutes on the device equals more than 6 miles on a racetrack. Without the therapy, Carinda said a horse would typically have to rest for six months after a surgery or injury and then get back in training.

"With this facility, at the end of six months, they're ready to race," he said. "They start their rehab as soon as the stitches come out."

Swimming in the pool lets the horses work muscles they don't use when they run. Putting them in the hot walker lets them walk on soft shavings without the weight of a rider. A shock wave therapy, a machine similar to an ultrasound, helps heal bone fractures and treat arthritis. And Carinda said acupuncture -- which he just finished studying at the University of Florida -- is good for lameness and arthritis as well as internal problems with the kidneys, large intestine and heart.

Carinda has run Equine Performance Sports Medicine in Wellington for 19 years. But he didn't open the spa until a racehorse he helps train named Hellava Hush injured a tendon and had surgery. He thought the horse, which won $1.3 million last season, still had about $6 million in winnings left in him.

"The instruction was to swim him for six months. Well, where were we going to swim him? We didn't have a pool," Carinda said. "It was the kick in the ass we needed."

So Carinda spent $750,000 on equipment and opened up the spa on Nov. 1. Trainers who operate out of the South Florida Training Center said it's been a godsend.

Jacques Dupuis, a trainer at the center, said five of his eight racehorses had gone to Carinda for therapy. Before the spa opened, there was little he could do for injured horses.

"I didn't have much choice. Give them stall rest, take it easy. This lets them get in there sooner," Dupuis said. "It advances the process and makes it quicker."

Stephanie Horvath can be reached at smhorvath@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6643.